Now that Instagram has surpassed its billion-user mark, competition for attention on the platform is heating up. Instagram content must be positioned even more strategically in order to cut through the din.
Casie Shimansky, who leads Instagram strategy for Cisco's talent brand @WeAreCisco, says that Instagram's monumental growth (not to mention algorithm change) has caused her team of two to constantly test their approach to creating and sharing content. Using different hashtags, geotags and posting strategies, the @WeAreCisco duo, led by Carmen Collins, one of PR News' 2017 Top Women in PR, ensures "we always stay true to the overall tone that the Instagram community expects."
Within Instagram, there are several different features communicators can use toward different ends. Shimansky's team, which won Best Use of an Instagram Photo at PR News' 2018 Social Media Awards, has developed specific goals for their Instagram feed posts, Instagram Stories and Instagram Live broadcasts, each tied to overall objectives for the recruiting arm of Cisco's business.
In terms of the big picture, @WeAreCisco's overarching Instagram goals are to:
- Create awareness that Cisco is a good place to work;
- Generate demand for Cisco jobs;
- Drive traffic to "Careers" site & applications;
- Inspire Cisco employees to share why they love where they work.
See the three elements of Instagram @WeAreCisco currently uses, and individual KPIs for each, below:
Instagram Feed:
- Grow followers
- Maintain engagement rate at or above industry rate (1.5%)
- Drive traffic to careers site from Instagram bio link and Instagram Stories “swipe up” links
- Global representation of content and followers, including employee-generated content from Cisco's offices around the world
Instagram Stories:
- Unique views
- Completion rate over 40%
Instagram Live (still being piloted):
- Monitoring live views
- 24-hour replay views
Having laid the groundwork above, one can only imagine where Shimansky and her team will take their department's strategy for Instagram's new long-form video feature, IGTV. Coding competitions between engineers? A condensed documentary of an employee's first day on the job? For Shimansky's team, the possibilities could be endless.
Follow Casie: @TheNameIsCasie
Follow Sophie: @SophieMaerowitz